Famous quotes
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“What tongueless ghost of sin crept through my curtains?. My family don't seem so familiar / And my enemies all know my name. You better get on your knees and pray / Panic is on the way My eyes are dead / My throat's like a black hole / And if there's a God / Would he give another chancer / An hour to sing for his soul?”
Noel Gallagher (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever I put the headsets on now," he'd continued, "I really do understand what I find there. When those kids sing about 'She loves you,' yeah, well, you know, she does, she's any number of people, all over the world, back through time, different colors, shapes, sizes, distances from death, but she loves. And the 'you' is everybody. And herself.”
Thomas Pynchon (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sing the melody line you hear in your own head. Remember, you don't owe anybody any explanations, you don't owe your parents any explanations, you don't owe your professors any explanations.”
“Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. Since I cannot sing, I paint.”
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Austere Stripper". Time (May 27, 1947), pp. 74.
“We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.”
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: We ReaI CooI" , The Bean Eaters (1960)
“And all the little people Will stare at me and say, "That is the Crazy Woman Who would not sing in May.”
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is a real chill out, The genuine thing. I am not deceived, I do not think it is still summer Because sun stays and birds continue to sing.”
Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Got to pay your dues if you want to sing the blues And you know it don't come easy.”
Ringo Starr (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Leave not thy nest, thy dam and sire, Fly back and sing amidst this choir.”
Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672) first seen 1659 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Reference to her Children, 23 June 1659.
“The lions sing and the hills take flight. The moon by day, and the sun by night. Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool. Let the Lord of Chaos rule.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I just sing when I feel like singing, feels sort of like exploding.”
Joan Baez (born 1941) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with NPR (2023)
“There was a revolution going on all around us, and if a white businessman and his family wanted to hear me sing "Fair and Tender Maidens," they had to come and sit in this boiling hot room and integrate an audience.”
“I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world.”
Jackie Robinson (1919–1972) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I Never Had It Made (1972) by Robinson, as told to Alfred Duckett; excerpted in "Why 'I Never Had It Made': Jackie Robinson's Own Story," Newsday (November 5, 1972)
“The Admiral says that he never beheld so fair a thing: trees all along the river, beautiful and green, and different from ours, with flowers and fruits each according to their kind, many birds and little birds which sing very sweetly.”
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) first seen 1492 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 28 October 1492
“Bring tea for the Tillerman, Steak for the sun, Wine for the women who made the rain come, Seagulls sing your hearts away ‘Cause while the sinners sin, the children play”
Cat Stevens (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We all sing about the things we're thinking; musicals are about expressing those emotions that you can't talk about.”
Anthony Stewart Head (1954–2026) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Giles Ahead Time Out - London's Living Guide January 9-16 2002
“Nothing is so beautiful as Spring— When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightning to hear him sing.”
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889) said by 1889 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To speak of joy and to sing of it, borne on The shoulders of joyous men, to feel the heart That is the common, the bravest fundament, This is a facile exercise.”
Wallace Stevens (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord Byron and Shelley and Plunkett, McDonough and Hunt and Pearse See now why their hatred of tyrants Was so insistently fierce. Is Freedom only a Will-o'-the-wisp To cheat a poet's eye? Be it phantom or fact, it's a noble cause In which to sing and to die!”
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was called by my agent, who said "Would you like to record a track with Kate Bush?" To which there is only F-ing one possible answer. Unless its me singing. I said, "She does know I can't sing?" "No-no-no, it would be voicing, saying words for snow. … I still can't believe it says "Kate Bush-Stephen Fry.”
Stephen Fry (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be beautiful is enough. If a woman can do that well, who shall demand more from her? You don't want a rose to sing.”
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of Heaven or Hell I have no power to sing, I cannot ease the burden of your fears, Or make quick-coming death a little thing, Or bring again the pleasure of past years, Nor for my words shall ye forget your tears, Or hope again for aught that I can say, The idle singer of an empty day.”
William Morris (1834–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The heavy trouble, the bewildering care That weighs us down who live and earn our bread, These idle verses have no power to bear; So let em sing of names rememberèd, Because they, living not, can ne'er be dead, Or long time take their memory quite away From us poor singers of an empty day.”
William Morris (1834–1896) said by 1896 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And sometimes when you're on You're really fucking on And your friends they sing along And they love you But the lows are so extreme That the good seems fucking cheap And it teases you for weeks in its absence”
Jenny Lewis (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whatever else has been said about me personally is unimportant. When I sing, I believe. I'm honest.”
Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in And I Quote : The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker (2003) by Ashton Applewhite , Tripp Evans, and Andrew Frothingham.
“To sing blues, you've got to be able to, ... be willing to, feel things.”
Janis Joplin (1943–1970) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pop Chronicles: Show 52 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8], interview recorded 1968 July 13.
“Normally, they want me to be rude to them. People come up to me and sing, and I say "That was great. Thank you." And they're like "Well, aren't you going to be rude to me?" No! When I miss auditions, contestants get upset that I'm not there, because they expect me to be cruel to them — it's some sort of badge of honor. That's how crazy everything is.”
Simon Cowell (born 1959) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in interview, Playboy magazine (February 2007)
“Goodnight, my angel Now it's time to dream. And dream how wonderful your life will be. Someday your child may cry And if you sing this lullabye Then in your heart There will always be a part of me. Someday we'll all be gone. But lullabyes go on and on... They never die. That's how you And I Will be.”
Billy Joel (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I keep waking up all by myself, With a blue jay in my brain. Flappin' his wings, making me sing, it was just about to rain.”
Tom Petty (1950–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love quickly is pall'd, Tho' with labour 'tis gain'd; Wine never does cloy Tho' with ease 'tis obtain'd. We sing while you sigh, We laugh while you weep; Love robs you of rest, Wine lulls us asleep.”
Thomas Shadwell (1642–1692) said by 1692 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m going to make her cry. I’m going to sing ‘Dixie’ until she cries. [in an elevator to Carol Moseley-Braun, the first African-American woman elected to the Senate]”
Jesse Helms (1921–2008) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chicago Sun-Times (1993)
“'Peace upon earth!' was said. We sing it And pay a million priests to bring it. After two thousand years of mass We’ve got as far as poison-gas.”
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Christmas: 1924
“Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. You ever notice that trees do everything to get attention we do, except walk?”
Alice Walker (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alone!—that worn-out word, So idly spoken, and so coldly heard; Yet all that poets sing, and grief hath known, Of hope laid waste, knells in that word ALONE!”
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) said by 1873 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Go and tell that nasty, rude little princess that we've known each other for long enough and gabbed enough in ladies' rooms that she should skip the ho-hum royal routine and just pop over here and ask me herself. … Tell her I'll sing if she christens a ship first.”
Judy Garland (1922–1969) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Garland's annoyed response to a note from Princess Margaret "commanding" her to sing at a party in 1965, as quoted in Princess Margaret : A Biography (1977) by Theo Aronson
“The visas came through in 1955, when I was 15. That June, we sailed for New York aboard the Conte Biancamano. When we passed the Statue of Liberty, Anna Maria [my sister] tried to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner".”
Mario Andretti (born 1940) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Coming to America -- In the Fast Lane," "House Call," "Mansion," The Wall Street Journal (3 August 2018), M1
“When you’re so lonely lying in bed, Night’s closed it’s eyes but you can’t rest your head. Everyone’s sleeping all through the house, You wish you could dream but forgot to somehow. Sing this lullaby to yourself.”
Jack Johnson (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs—I was a man before I was a king.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Homer himself must beg if he want means, and as by report sometimes he did "go from door to door and sing ballads, with a company of boys about him.”
Robert Burton (1577–1640) said by 1640 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What is that land of hill and dale That is so beautiful, The land aglow with summer days, Land with the northern lights ablaze, Whose beauty all the seasons share, What is that land so fair? There many thousand lakes are bright With twinkling stars at night There many kanteles resound And all around make hillsides sing And on the golden heath firs ring: That is the Finnish land.”
Aleksis Kivi (1834–1872) said by 1872 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Church bells and now I'm awakeAnd I guess it must be some kind of holidayI can't seem to join in the celebrationBut I'll go to the serviceAnd I'll go to prayAnd I'll sing the praises of my maker's nameLike I was as good as she made me...”
Elliott Smith (1969–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I joined my family's band, Clannad , as a teenager in 1980 to sing harmonies and play keyboards, but it wasn't musically challenging for me; I felt like an outsider. ... My split from Clannad two years later caused a conflict of loyalty for a time, because I went off with their manager Nicky Ryan, who had asked me to join Clannad in the first place.”
“Cool, calm, and unemotional. Protestant, for short. It's a fantastic religion, it makes absolutely no demands upon you at all, which is why it's not a great religion. All great religions are built on shame. You don't have any of that if you're Protestant. You go to the church, sing a few hymns, have a cup of tea, everybody goes home and has a wank.”
Dylan Moran (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She's not that attractive. I mean, she was hard to look at at first, but I figured, rough around the edges, but she can sing good.”
“I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.”
Langston Hughes (1901–1967) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I, Too", in the magazine Survey Graphic (March 1925); reprinted in Selected Poems (1959); it is also often referred to as "I, Too, Sing America
“We decided that my character had a pre-show tradition, like a ritual, which was to sing the lyrics to "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick into the mirror. Because, more than anything else, as much as he says he's bringing the truth, he just wants to be liked.”
Stephen Colbert (born 1964) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parade web exclusive interview (19 September 2007)
“As it fell upon a day In the merry month of May, Sitting in a pleasant shade Which a grove of myrtles made, Beasts did leap, and birds did sing, Trees did grow, and plants did spring; Every thing did banish moan, Save the nightingale alone.”
Richard Barnfield (1574–1627) said by 1627 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Three merry boys, and three merry boys, And three merry boys are we, As ever did sing in a hempen string Under the gallow-tree.”
John Fletcher (1579–1625) said by 1625 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Three merry boys, and three merry boys, And three merry boys are we. As ever did sing in a hempen string Under the gallows tree.”
John Fletcher (1579–1625) first seen 1595 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Act III, scene iii. Compare: "Three merry men be we", George Peele, Old Wives' Tale, 1595. John Webster (quoted), Westward Hoe, 1607.
“For all we know Of what the blessed do above Is, that they sing, and that they love.”
Edmund Waller (1606–1687) said by 1687 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: While I listen to thy Voice; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).